The Camping Trip
by Ali213
Summary: Two part sort of sequel to The Ski Trip: Graduation's over and Jake thinks it'd be a great idea for the gang to go camping...much merriment ensues...BL with bits of NH and JP
1. Part I

_Okely dokely here is a brand new little ficlet for you all! This is sort of a mini sequel to 'The Ski Trip' but it's also a little in between bit for 'Never Gone Away' and it's proper sequel that I will be writing about Brooke and Lucas at college. If that's confusing then just ignore it and enjoy the fic!_

_This is in two parts and is set just after the gang graduate from high school. They have all chosen their colleges, which will be discussed in this fic. The couples are BL, NH and JP. This first part is mostly BL (sorry to all you other fans) but part two is more of a mix.

* * *

_

The car stopped in a clearing in the wood. Lucas unclipped his seatbelt and turned to face his girlfriend, who was sitting in the passenger seat with her arms crossed, avoiding his gaze.

"Brooke…"

She ignored him, and he chuckled and cupped her cheek, turning her head to look at him. "I promise it'll be fun."

She sighed. "In case you hadn't noticed Lucas we are in the middle of nowhere! With a pile of canvas and a couple of cooler boxes. There is no way this will be fun."

"It will be…the tents are nice and cosy, and we'll build a fire, and all share stories and stuff…maybe eat some marshmallows."

She raised an eyebrow slowly. "Did you bring some?"

He smiled. "Of course."

"Pink ones?"

"Yes."

"Will you make me s'mores?"

"Absolutely."

She paused, considering it. "Fine. I'll get out of the car."

Lucas thanked her and kissed her on the forehead. Just as they were getting out two more cars pulled up, and Nathan, Haley, Jake and Peyton all got out.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey!"

"I see you managed to get Brooke out of the car, nice going man."

"It wasn't easy."

"Hey!" She hit him on the arm and glared at Nathan.

"You know, Brooke kind of has a point," Peyton said, looking around, "There's not exactly a lot to do here."

"Of course there is. We'll go on a walk, maybe do some fishing, have a campfire…" Jake grinned happily at Peyton and began unloading their tent from the boot. Peyton returned the smile with not quite the same level of enthusiasm, but never the less helped him with their stuff.

"So, who's going to help pitch the tents?" Nathan asked, dropping a pile of poles and canvas unceremoniously into the centre of the clearing.

Brooke eyed it for a second and then said, "You know what. I think me and Peyton are going to go and explore the er, surroundings. So…have fun with that." She grabbed Peyton's arm and dragged her off back down the track.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Hales, do you want to go to?"

"No way. I know how to pitch a tent, Luke and me used to camp in the garden all the time."

Nathan smiled smugly at the other guys as his wife began to help him.

* * *

"Now Pey, I know Jake's great and all and you love him, but seriously, as his girlfriend, I really think you should have been able to influence him in some way to get this crazy camping idea out of his head!" 

"Hey, we all agreed Brooke. It wasn't just Jake who wanted to go."

"I did _not _agree to this! I was asleep at the time and Lucas agreed for me!"

"Well it serves you right for falling asleep."

"I was tired! It was the day after graduation. You can't expect me to stay awake after a party like that."

"It was pretty fun."

Brooke smiled at the memory. "I don't think I've ever seen someone dance quite so elegantly in a Raven outfit before."

Peyton laughed. "Yeah, especially with those big wings and everything."

They caught each other's eye and burst out laughing as they thought of the drunken dance performed by Tim in the school mascot costume.

"So Brooke, where exactly are we going?" Peyton asked after a minute.

"I'm not sure, I'm just walking. The camping site manager guy said there were 'bathroom facilities' somewhere round here."

"I don't see why we had to chose a clearing _so_ far away from the lodge and stuff anyway."

Brooke groaned, "Apparently that makes it more 'real,' or that's what Lucas said anyway. Personally, I think the nearer the lodge the better: much less chance of being eaten by bears."

They walked on a little further.

"You don't think there actually are bears around do you?" Peyton asked.

Brooke hesitated and shrugged. "Probably. I'm sure they're very friendly though." She smiled at Peyton reassuringly, and Peyton looked uneasy. Brooke giggled and shook her head. "We'll be fine Pey. You've got Jake to protect you."

Peyton laughed. "So, are you looking forward to NYU?" she asked after a little while.

"We are _not_ talking about college yet Pey!" Brooke said firmly. "High school is only just over and I for one am done with thinking about anything educational right now."

"Okay," Peyton said chuckling. "Jeez is this how you got Lucas to shut up about Stanford?"

Brooke hesitated for a second but then breezed past it, "Yep. He is under strict instructions."

Peyton laughed again. "Alright. Well then I'll shut up too."

The girls eventually made their way back to the campsite after taking a round trip to the bathrooms, which Brooke found to be not quite to her standards.

The others had been busy in their absence and they were pleased to find that the tents were set up and the sleeping bags unpacked.

"Nice work guys," Brooke said giving them all a thumbs up as she looked round at the three tents.

Nathan gave her a look and she smiled smugly back at him, very pleased to have avoided an entire section of work.

"I hope you know that you guys are making the fire tonight," he said.

Peyton gave him a doleful stare, "But we don't know how," she said.

Jake rolled his eyes. "I'll help you."

Brooke stuck her bottom lip out and turned to Lucas. He chuckled and wrapped an arm round her. "Me too."

Nathan shook his head.

* * *

They decided to spend the afternoon going fishing. Or rather, Jake and Lucas decided, and the others couldn't be bothered to argue. So they took a couple of rods and set of along the path, which apparently led to the river. Key word: apparently. 

"Broody…we're lost," Brooke groaned, half an hour later as they trudged through a patch of woodland that looked oddly familiar.

"No we're not. We just need to…find where we're going."

Haled groaned and leant her head against Nathan as they walked. "We'll be here forever."

"It's probably just a little further," Jake said reassuringly. "Lets just…play a game or something."

"Like what," Brooke grumbled.

"I don't know…I spy or…"

"Truth or dare?" Brooke interjected, suddenly sounding more perky.

"NO," Haley said firmly. "That game always ends in trouble."

"But that's why it's so fun," Brooke said.

Jake sighed. "Don't we know all each other's truths by now?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I guess. Although I'm not sure…graduation was pretty crazy!"

Lucas chuckled and caught Brooke's hand, pulling her close to him, "Always a stirrer, huh Cheery?"

"I'm just saying!"

Haley laughed. "She's right though…I mean, I figured everyone would want to blow off a little steam, but I never thought it would be like that. I didn't know it was possible for Tim to actually get more insane…"

Peyton giggled, "I didn't think it was possible for him to be that drunk without passing out! But it was expected, I mean it's the end of high school!"

"Yeah…god I still can't believe it's really over."

There was a moment's silence as they all contemplated the vast expanse of their futures before them. Lucas felt Brooke lean against his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head.

They finally arrived at the bank and set up. After half an hour of eagerly watching Jake and Lucas sitting with their rods, hoping every twitch was a shark or something equally exciting on the end of their line, they resigned themselves to a quiet afternoon.

As they sat talking sporadically, Peyton noticed Brooke was beginning to slip out of the conversation. She was sitting next to Lucas, her arms wrapped round her knees, which were supporting her chin.

"Brooke, you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," Brooke smiled tightly, but it was clear her mind had been miles away. Peyton frowned for a second before turning back to Haley, and Brooke's eyes glazed over once more as her mind disappeared back to wherever it had been.

Lucas watched her and glanced over at Haley, who caught his eye and shrugged.

"Hey Nate can you take my rod for a minute?" he asked, standing up.

"Yeah sure." Nathan moved over to watch the rod, glancing up at Lucas to see where he was going.

"Come on Cheery, let's go for a walk." He held out a hand to Brooke. She looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Come on," he said simply, inclining his head to the woods.

She shrugged and stood up, taking his hand. He led her away from the bank, flashing Haley a reassuring smile over his shoulder that let her know they'd be back in a minute.

The others shared a look when they'd left.

"What's up with Brooke?" Jake asked.

"I don't know…" Peyton said.

"Lucas will sort it out," Haley said confidently.

Lucas and Brooke walked back down the path they had come, Lucas wasn't taking much notice of the surroundings but he checked where they were going to make sure they didn't get lost. He held Brooke's hand tightly, and looked over at her to find she was looking at the ground, her expression sad.

"So what's up?" he asked, unable to bear her quietness any longer.

She looked up at him and shrugged. "Nothing."

"Come on Brooke, this isn't like you."

She hesitated then shook her head. "I'm fine Lucas, it's nothing."

He stopped walking and turned to face her, tipping his head on one side. "Seriously Brooke what is it? I hate seeing you like this."

Brooke bit her lip. "I'm just…_sad_, Luke."

Lucas frowned slightly and took her hands, interlacing his fingers with hers. "Sad about the end of high school?"

"About the end of us. I don't know…I guess…I'm finally realising what all this means."

Lucas looked down and nodded. There was silence for a moment and then he said quietly, "You know it's not the end, right?"

"Lucas, we're going to different colleges. We agreed a long distance relationship would be too hard."

"But that doesn't mean it's the end forever. Brooke, you know how I feel about you. And I promise that will never change."

Brooke sighed and looked away. "We don't know what will happen, we can't say for sure that everything will work out for us."

"No, we can't. But we will always be in each other's lives Brooke. Nothing could stop that."

Brooke looked up and met his eyes. He lifted a hand to her cheek and she leant into it, feeling his thumb graze her skin. She nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

Lucas smiled sadly and pulled her into his arms, one hand holding her head as she buried her face in his shoulder. Brooke breathed in his musky smell, as she felt tears in her eyes.

She knew he was right when he said they would always be in each other's lives, but she still couldn't imagine the prospect of four years without him. Not seeing him every day, not kissing him or falling asleep in his arms…whatever he said wouldn't change the fact that that was what she was facing.

He pulled back a little and leant his forehead against hers. She kept her eyes shut but felt him brush a few tears from her cheek.

"It's going to be okay," he said gently, and she opened her eyes and nodded weakly. "I know."

"We've still got the summer. It's not goodbye yet. And anyway, even next year I'm only a phone call away. But we don't have to worry about any of that yet. Right now, I'm here. I'm right here."

"Uh huh. Thanks Luke." She sniffed and smiled.

"Do you want to go back?" he asked. She nodded again, holding his hand as he pulled her close to him as they walked.

They found their way back to the bank and Lucas sat down, pulling Brooke down between his legs and wrapping his arms round her from behind.

Haley shot him a look but he just smiled in return, letting her know everything was okay. Brooke nestled herself back in his arms, looking out over the lake and absent-mindedly running her fingers up and down his arms.

She livened up a little as the afternoon progressed, buoyed by the comforting presence of Lucas and her friends' efforts to cheer her up.

Lucas took the opportunity while Nathan was telling a crazy story to check how she was. He dipped his head and whispered, "Feeling a little better?"

She turned her head to look up at him and smiled. "Yeah, thanks Luke."

He smiled too, "No problem." He kissed her lightly, and she lifted a hand up behind her to cup his cheek.

"I love you Cheery."

Brooke grinned at her nickname and resolved to return to her usual mood. "Love you too."

_**PLEASE REVIEW!** If you do I'll try to get part two up as quickly as possible._


	2. Part II

_**Thank you** so much for the awesome response I got for the last part! I was tempted to turn this into a long fic, but I really want to get onto my college one, so here's a very long second part instead! I hope you enjoyed it, I tried to add some more of the couples as promised (and requested!) Especially as feel kind of sorry for all the N/Hers, and J/Pers too kinda, what with you not getting much by the way of scenes right now! So sit back and enjoy some fun in the sun (and dark)!_

Nathan pulled up his rod and inspected the bait, then frowned and began adding some more to the hook. "This time last year, did you guys think we would all become friends?" he asked, as he fiddled with bits of flies.

Haley laughed out loud. "No!"

Brooke giggled. "Be friends with you losers? I don't think so!"

Lucas dug her in the ribs and she giggled again, shoving him off.

"But even when we had become friends…like when you and I were actually speaking to each other," he said to Lucas, "did you think we'd stay friends?"

Lucas considered this. "Well I guess when you married my best friend I figured I was going to have to spend _a little_ time with you…" Nathan chuckled and Lucas grinned. "I don't know…when we all first met I definitely would never have imagined we'd be like this someday."

"Yeah," Haley agreed, "I mean do you remember when you first went out with Brooke? When we talked the next day…I never thought that would last."

Brooke gave her a mock horrified expression, "You didn't?"

"Oh come on! You were 'Brooke Davis'," Nathan said, "Your relationships never lasted!"

Brooke threw a piece of bait at him playfully, but nodded. "You're right though, even I didn't think it would last…I guess it didn't really," she added, chuckling. "But it just goes to show…people change."

Lucas smiled, "Yeah they do. I mean, look at Nathan…who would have thought the great Nathan Scott would be settled down and married at 16?"

"Yeah, and to me of all people!" Haley added. Nathan laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"If it wasn't for basketball…" Jake said.

"Yeah…god imagine if we'd all never met," Brooke said. "Well, not met…but, you know what I mean. If it wasn't for Whitey getting you to join the team Luke…"

There was silence for a second as they contemplated this.

"Way to go Whitey," Jake said, nodding solemnly.

They all burst out laughing.

* * *

"Does anyone want to go swimming?" Haley asked, as the sun rose higher in the sky and they all began to get hot. 

"Oh yeah!" Brooke agreed enthusiastically.

"Do you think this water's okay to swim in?" Peyton asked.

Jake shrugged, "It looks pretty clear."

"Do you want to walk back and get our bikinis?" Haley asked.

Peyton nodded and looked towards Brooke, and then burst out laughing. Brooke had already stripped of her T-shirt to reveal a black bra, and was sliding out of her jeans at that moment.

"Come on!" she called to them, as she ran into the water and did a perfect surface dive, re-emerging a few seconds later a pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Um, good idea in theory Brooke…" Haley started, "But not so great if you're wearing white underwear." She pulled down the top of her jeans a little to show her white panties.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess. Pey, you're wearing black, right?"

"Nope, purple. And I don't really plan on getting them wet," she said laughing.

Brooke rolled her eyes and walked a little way back to the shore. "Well you can go and get your stuff then, it shouldn't take too long now we know the way."

The others nodded. "Yeah, we'll come too," Nathan said.

"Great. Broody can stay and keep me company," Brooke grinned at Lucas. He raised an eyebrow at her and she pouted a little, taking another few steps forward so the water was around her thighs.

Lucas swallowed, "Yeah sure."

Haley rolled her eyes. "You'd better not be making out when we get back." They turned and headed off.

"Oh, can you bring me a towel!" Brooke called after them. "And a hairbrush!" she added. "I'm all for acting spontaneously," she said, turning to Lucas, "But it sucks getting dry without a towel!"

Lucas chuckled.

"So are you coming in?"

"I don't know…will you make it worth my while?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

He grinned and pulled of his T-shirt, and jeans, leaving him in Blue boxers. "Is it cold?" he asked.

"No! Come on!"

He waded in a little way until she could reach his hand and pull him in further. She rested her hands on his sides and kissed him, running her fingers underwater across his stomach and up his chest.

"See," she whispered in his ear, "I told you it'd be worth your while."

He chuckled and began kissing her neck as she wrapped her legs round his waist. His hands ran up and down her sides and he felt her shiver at his touch. Cupping his face, her lips found his again, and she smiled against them as his hands ran up her thighs…

* * *

"What did I tell you guys about making out!" Haley's voice rang across the lake and Brooke and Lucas broke apart, looking sheepish. 

"Sorry Hales!" Lucas called. "It's a good thing the water's cold," he added to Brooke in an undertone, and she chuckled quietly. She unhooked her arms from around him and swam away a little, watching the others begin to walk into the lake.

Haley was shaking her head as she swam towards her, and Brooke giggled. "Come on Hales, what did you expect? Like you and Nathan would have been any different."

"Nathan and I are very careful when people are around!" Haley said indignantly.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "I cannot count the number of times I have walked in on you guys."

"Well what does that say about you?"

Brooke laughed. "Whatever." She looked over Haley's shoulder at Peyton, who still wasn't in yet.

Brooke swam over to her. "Come on Pey, hurry up."

"It's cold!"

"No it's not, just take the plunge!"

Peyton gave her a look and Brooke giggled. "You know what'll happen otherwise."

Peyton groaned. "No way, come on Brooke. Can't we go swimming just _one_ time without you splashing me before I'm in?"

Brooke shook her head. "It's tradition! If I stopped now it would be like acknowledging that that era of our life is over, and you know how much I hate doing that!"

"Brooke, we're talking about splashing people here, there's no need to get all emotional about it."

"On the contrary. This is a huge part of our childhood we're talking about. I think it is highly important that I splash you…for the sake of those little girls who used to spend every weekend in my pool…" Brooke's voice took on a melancholy tone, but Peyton could see her eyes were still dancing behind it.

"Fine, go on then," she said reluctantly.

Brooke clapped her hands and then sent a wave of water towards Peyton, who gasped as it hit her.

"Thank you Pey!"

Peyton laughed and dived into the water, all fear of its temperature forgotten. She swam over to Jake and looped her arms round his neck from behind.

Brooke joined them and settled herself against Lucas' chest.

"What was that about?" Jake asked.

"Just a little tradition," Peyton smiled.

Nathan and Haley came over, and Nathan ducked under the water, re-emerging with Haley on his shoulders.

"It would be so weird to be this tall all the time," she mused, looking around her from her elevated height.

Brooke gave her a look, "Well, yeah! You'd be like, eight feet tall!"

"You know what I mean! I'm short, I meant if I was like Nathan's height."

Nathan laughed. "That would still be weird. God, I wouldn't have to bend down to kiss you!"

"You don't have to bend down that much!" Haley protested.

"I think it's cute, I like that you're small."

Haley smiled and continued entwining her fingers in his hair as she held on.

They played around in the water for most of the afternoon. The other girls all wanted to go on their boyfriends' shoulders as well, and then later they played a warped version of water polo with a beach ball.

Eventually they started to get cold, and so swam back to the shore and grabbed towels and clothes.

"I'm so cold!" Peyton exclaimed, shivering as she ran to find a towel.

"Come here," Jake reached out for her and wrapped her in a towel, wrapping his arms round her as well. She settled against his chest, her teeth chattering, and Jake chuckled as he rubbed her arms.

The others dried themselves a little and pulled on their clothes over their swimming things; they could change back at the camp. Brooke pulled her hair into a pony tail and then approached Lucas, sliding an arm round his waist and snuggling against him to get warm.

"Brooke! You're all wet!"

"Well so are you! And thanks for being such a sweet and caring boyfriend," she said sarcastically. "Jeez! Peyton gets a freakin' bear hug!"

Lucas laughed and pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.

"Much better."

Haley pulled on a jumper and turned to Nathan. "Any chance of a piggy bag?" she asked hopefully. He narrowed his eyes but conceded, and she jumped onto his back.

Brooke noticed and looked up at Lucas but he interrupted before she could speak.

"Let me guess, you want one too?" he asked, smiling.

Brooke hesitated, changing approach, "…No…"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Can't you guys stop this competitive thing you all have going on," he joked, "It's getting really hard to keep up!"

Brooke laughed. "I wasn't going to ask for one!"

"You so were!" Lucas' fingers found her stomach and he tickled her lightly. She yelped and shoved him off, jumping away from him.

Lucas chuckled and caught her hand. "Can't you all just agree that I'm by far the best boyfriend and leave it at that?" he whispered, pulling her towards him. Brooke grinned, "Well I'll agree to that…I'm not sure how the others will feel…"

"How about we just keep it our little secret?"

She smiled and he dipped his head, capturing her lips.

"That's it! Brooke and Lucas started making out, time to go!" Peyton clapped her hands and gestured towards the path. The others readily agreed, laughing, and Brooke and Lucas reluctantly broke apart and followed.

Haley draped her arms round Nathan's neck as he carried her, almost falling asleep against his back. Peyton and Jake were walking a little way ahead of them, one of his arms still wrapped firmly around her, even though she had stopped shivering. Brooke and Lucas soon caught up, and Brooke laced her fingers through his as they walked.

"Hey Goldilocks, have you stopped shivering yet?" Brooke asked.

"Just about," she replied.

"Peyt used to be the worst shiverer," Brooke explained to the others.

"Oh my god, so was Lucas!" Haley said, looking up. "He wouldn't stop for hours, every time we went swimming Karen thought he'd caught pneumonia!"

"I can imagine you were a pretty skinny kid," Brooke mused, looking up at Lucas. "Mind you, you still are."

"Yeah," Jake agreed, turning to Peyton, "If you had a little more insulation…"

"Are you saying you'd prefer it if I was fat?"

Jake chuckled, "…Um, no."

"So you'd break up with me if I got fat?" Peyton loved teasing him.

He rolled his eyes. "Not what I said babe."

"Dammit, it's no fun if you don't even get stressed out anymore!"

"Hey Brooke, remember when you didn't speak to Nathan for like a week because he accidentally called you fat?" Haley said laughing.

"Oh yeah! I was meant to never speak to him again…damn I forgot."

"Did you have to remind her Hales? It took me forever to get her to stop ragging me about it!"

Lucas chuckled. "You used to turn away when he came in the room! What did you say man, anyway?"

"It was horrible," Brooke stated solemnly.

"It was a total mistake. She asked me to pass her her cheerleading uniform, which was in a pile with Peyton's. I picked them up, and gave her the larger one. It was completely unintentional and - "

"Oh yeah right! You made a conscious choice Nathan Scott and you know it."

"Well…maybe because your boobs are bigger I assumed - "

"I'm sorry, what?" said Haley, "Do you always note girls' boob sizes?"

Nathan struggled to explain himself, while the other guys cracked up laughing.

"Not all girls! I mean, it's Brooke - "

"So just a few, well that's okay then," Haley said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it like that. I mean…it's kind of obvious her boobs are bigger than Peyton's - "

"Hey!" Peyton interjected, outraged.

"Dude, you're digging yourself into a hole here," Lucas said.

"You know Broody, I think it's about time you started defending my honour here, what with your brother checking out my rack and all."

"I was not - "

"Her boobs aren't _that_ much bigger!"

"I still can't believe you consciously noted the size of their boobs."

"That's still no excuse for calling me fat!"

Jake and Lucas were by this time doubled over with laughter, as Nathan held his hands over his ears to block out the complaints of the girls.

Eventually they stopped because they couldn't hold off laughing any longer, and Haley wrapped her arms round Nathan's neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"It's okay, I forgive you."

"I still don't understand what I did," he whimpered, shaking his head.

"You called me fat."

"I didn't mean to," Nathan started, but then noticed that Brooke was grinning.

"God, you are so much fun to wind up."

* * *

They got back to the campsite and changed in their tents, a process that Brooke found very inconvenient, and then met outside again. 

"We should build a campfire," Jake said.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah cool, we just need to collect some wood." He looked at Brooke and Peyton, "Now, it may be my memory deceiving me," he said, "but I believe _some_ people skived off putting up the tents this morning."

Brooke and Peyton exchanged a look and groaned. "Do we have to?"

Nathan gave them a look, which told them his answer.

"Fine," Brooke huffed, standing up and pulling Peyton up too, "But if we get eaten by bears it's on your conscience."

"Yeah, if we're not back in half an hour, Jake, Lucas, beat him up, okay?" Peyton said, looking at the two of them sternly. "Sorry Hales," she added.

Haley laughed. "Just go!"

They eventually left, picking up sticks as they wandered off. The others began making an area for a fire, and getting out the bags of marshmallows. The talk inevitably slipped to colleges, as it was in the back of all their minds.

They'd spent a long while deliberating about colleges that year, but eventually they had all made their choices.

Haley and Nathan were both going to Princeton; Nathan's struggles to bring up his grades had paid off, and with a little help from a basketball scholarship he'd got in.

Jake was going to Berkeley, and would be living with Peyton near San Francisco, as she was going to the Art Academy there. Lucas had a basketball scholarship to Stanford, and so was going there, and Brooke, after a little help from Haley, was going to NYU.

"Hey, I was wondering," Lucas began, turning to Nathan and Haley, "Are you two going to get to share a dorm at college together? I mean…do they allow mixed dorms if you're married?"

Nathan chuckled. "I don't know man. But we're going to try and get our own apartment off campus anyway."

Lucas nodded. "So we can all come and crash at your place when we want to come an visit?" he said with a grin.

"I wouldn't count on it," Nathan warned, "It'll probably be tiny."

"I'm sure Brooke will find somewhere for you to stay when you visit," Haley said knowingly.

"I was talking about when I come visit you guys!" Lucas protested.

"Of course you were," Haley smiled.

"I still can't believe you and Brooke are going to be on opposite sides of the country," Jake said.

Lucas nodded slowly, his expression turning sombre.

"It'll be okay though," Haley said, catching Lucas' eye and holding it, giving him a small smile. He returned it, nodding again.

"Have you talked about it much?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah a little. I mean, we talked about it a lot before we decided, but not much since graduation…I think she's still having a hard time over it."

"And what about you?"

Lucas was silent for a moment. "Truthfully?…I don't know. I'm not sure if I really have come to terms with it or if I just can't face contemplating it right now…I think it could be a good thing though…I mean, college is a difficult time anyway, maybe it's better if we just deal with it on our own."

"Is that the main reason why you decided not to go to NYU?"

"I don't know…no…maybe if I'd got a basketball scholarship there…or if Brooke had got into Stanford, it would be different. But we both knew what we wanted to do, and ultimately, we don't want to stop each other from doing that."

Jake nodded and smiled, "I think you're right, about college being a difficult time anyway and stuff…this could just make you stronger…either way it'll give you an opportunity to really go for what you want in life…no compromises, no strings attached."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah…those first couple of months are going to be really hard though…"

"We'll make sure we all meet up at Christmas in Tree Hill," Haley said.

They all agreed enthusiastically. "And Thanksgiving!" Jake added.

"And we should meet at other times too," Nathan said. "Like…all plan a road trip to somewhere."

"You could all come to New York," Haley suggested.

"Or we could all come to California," Jake said.

"Or we could just meet in the middle!" Lucas said, laughing.

They looked up as the girls came back into the clearing, each carrying a large bundle of wood, which they dumped unceremoniously next the fire pit.

"What are you guys talking about?" Peyton asked.

"Um, colleges," Haley admitted, casting a glance at Brooke. "I know it's not your favourite topic but - "

"You can say that again," Brooke said, rolling her eyes, but then smiled, "But it's okay. I knew there was no way we were going to stay off the subject forever." She sat down next to Lucas, who pulled her into his lap, wrapping an arm round her waist.

"We were trying to work out where a middle point would be," Haley said, grinning, "So we could all meet somewhere an equal distance from everyone."

Peyton laughed, "Then we'll just end up in some Mid West hick town! Since we're all going to be living in such cool cities we might as well take advantage of them."

"Yeah, and New York is way cooler than San Francisco so we're gonna be meeting there!" Brooke said firmly.

Peyton gave here a look, "Oh yeah? Does New York have trams?"

"Does San Francisco have Barneys?"

Peyton narrowed her eyes. "Fine, we'll come to New York."

Haley laughed. "Well we'll have plenty of opportunities to go everywhere…We're going to see a lot of each other, right?"

There was a pause for a second.

"Yeah," Jake said firmly, "Yeah we are."

* * *

That evening they all sat around a campfire that Jake and Lucas had painstakingly built, sharing memories about their high school years and toasting marshmallows. 

Haley was wandering around finding bits of wood to keep the fire going, and the other girls were nestled in their boyfriends' laps, keeping warm in the cold night air.

"Hey, do you remember Lucas' first basketball game?" Nathan asked.

"Oh no! Can we not relive that please!"

Brooke giggled. "You choked so bad."

"Hey, I made up for it later."

"Hardly," Nathan joked.

"I'm sorry, who's scoring average was highest this past season? Was it Nathan Scott? No I don't think so!"

"Shut up man! I thought it was only fair you got it one year."

"Yeah right dude!" Lucas shook his head, and took his marshmallow out of the fire. "Okay babe, one s'more coming up!" He added the finishing touches and handed it to Brooke.

"Thank you Broody," she grinned, turning her head to kiss him.

"I'm going to miss that gym," Haley said, finally sitting down next to Nathan, "So many memories."

"Yeah, all the formals as well."

"Oh yeah! Like Hales getting snow queen."

"That was such a bad night."

"It really was actually," Peyton agreed. "Prom was so much better."

"I think that's because I was queen that time."

"Whatever Brooke!" Haley said laughing, and Brooke grinned.

"I think it was because we all went with the right people…rather than Anna…and Felix."

Brooke wrinkled her nose and giggled, "Yeah, what was that about!"

"You weren't at that winter formal, right?" Lucas asked Jake.

"No, I came back just after."

"God Pey was so happy after that." Brooke remembered, "Her face when she came into school…it was like she'd won a million dollars."

Peyton blushed and Jake chuckled and kissed her head.

"Hey, did any of you guys do it after prom?"

There was a joint outcry of "Brooke!"

"What! I was just wondering. Because it's like the tradition - that you do it for the first time after prom…but we all kind of screwed up that so I just thought it would be nice if we'd all done it anyway."

"It would be 'nice'?"

"Romantic."

"I thought the prom tradition was a limo and a sleazy motel."

"Whatever, I was just wondering," Brooke laughed.

"Well we almost didn't. Nathan got a little wasted at Tim's after party," Haley giggled.

"I was not wasted! I was sober enough to take you home right…with the…" Nathan trailed off, he and Haley both remembering the candle-lit room he had prepared for them in their apartment, and the subsequent night.

"You said 'almost didn't', so you did," Brooke stated, "And Jake, didn't you get a hotel room?"

"Not a sleazy one though," Jake defended.

"I didn't say that, and it's cool, heck I would have done if I had a baby at home."

"We went to 'The Walton'" Peyton said, referring to a beautiful old hotel in Tree Hill.

"And I'm betting you didn't leave there without making full use of the room so…see, I told you we all did it on prom night."

"I still don't see how that's 'nice'," Jake said laughing.

"Because…prom night kind of marks the end of high school, so we all ended high school with the people we were meant to." She grinned triumphantly at them all, and they nodded, smiling at this thought.

"Do you remember the view?" Lucas whispered to Brooke. They had gone to Lucas' house after prom, because his mom wasn't there, and had stayed up all night and then watched the sun rise from the back porch the next morning.

Brooke nodded, smiling. She remembered it perfectly. The sky, seared with brilliant oranges and pinks; the air cool and crisp, blowing through the grey hoody she was wearing; Lucas' arms wrapped round her as she sat on his lap in a chair, his lips against her hair. And she remembered feeling utterly content.

She leant her head against his now, and felt the feeling flood back to her, warming her just as well as the heat of the fire.

* * *

"Oh hey, before I forget, look what I found the other day," Jake said, going over to his tent and re-emerging with a black portfolio. "It's a load of Peyton's old drawings from last year." 

"Oh wow! Let's see," Nathan held out a hand and Jake passed him a couple.

Peyton covered her face as she saw them. "I seriously think we should burn these, they're crap." Peyton was a little embarrassed about all her old drawings, many of which featured the others. She always hated looking at her old work; she thought it was terrible.

"Oh my god Peyt, you cannot be serious, these are amazing." Brooke had always been admiring of Peyton's talent, and wouldn't let her bad mouth it.

"Although," she added, laughing, reaching the ones Peyton had drawn during the time she'd had feelings for Lucas, "we could burn a couple of them!"

She held up one of a flaming heart featuring a number three being gunned down by three teenagers who oddly resembled herself, Lucas and Peyton.

"Oh my god, yes, burn it," Peyton grabbed the picture, laughing as well, and threw it on the fire.

"Hey, don't burn them, they're a part of your past, one day you'll want to be able to look at them all and remember it." Haley said.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to want to remember that particular stage of my past," Peyton smiled at Lucas and Brooke, "and I don't think they do either, so I think this lot can go," she made to take the rest of the pile from Brooke, but she stopped her.

"No, Haley's right actually. You can't change the past and you shouldn't forget what you've been through," she handed the drawings over, and Peyton shrugged, setting them aside.

Brooke turned her head to look at Lucas, who had stayed silent, he smiled at her, and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her waist. "Wise words, cheery." He whispered. She smiled.

"So where were we," Jake said, "before these three got dragged down memory lane. Someone was telling us what we should do tomorrow."

"Yeah, that was me," Nathan cut in, "I was saying we should all go exploring a little; maybe check out the rest of the forest."

"Cool, we'd be up for that, right? Peyt?"

"Hmm? What? Sorry, um, yeah, definitely." Peyton had been thinking about the pictures and what they'd been talking about. She was so glad that they could all laugh about that now.

After she and Lucas had realised that they'd never work out, and she had gotten over her feelings for him, the thing that scared her most was that she'd screwed things up forever for him and her best friend. She'd seen Brooke and Lucas grow very close during their time at THH, but Brooke was always holding back a little, afraid of getting hurt again.

She was relieved when they'd managed to get past what had happened, and Brooke had learned to trust Lucas again. Because she could see now that what she and Lucas had destroyed had been the start of something really special.

Brooke looked over at her best friend and smiled. She knew she'd really got over what had happened when she and Peyton could talk about it and she didn't feel a pang of bitterness about their betrayal. She knew that Lucas loved her, and that in the end, everything had worked out. Lucas and Peyton had got over their feelings, so he wouldn't always be wondering about what might have been, and she had had a chance to grow up.

She had changed a lot in the past year, what with he parents losing their money as well. She had learnt that she couldn't always get what she wanted, and that sex wasn't always the answer.

Also, she and Lucas had had a chance to be friends. They'd very slowly built their relationship up again, so that she trusted him, and so that this time, it was based on more than a mutual attraction. She felt his arms around her, and nestled herself further into them.

He looked down on her, a concerned expression on his face. "You cold?"

"No, thanks." She smiled up at him, as if to say, 'everything's perfect', and he smiled back, agreeing.

"So, everyone agreed? Tomorrow we go and explore the rest of the forest," Nathan said.

Everyone nodded, and Jake got up, "Ok, well I'm going to bed then, see you guys in the morning."

Peyton stood up with him, and they went into their tent. Nathan got up too, and gave Haley a kiss before making his way over to their tent.

"You coming to bed broody?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, I'll be in in a second."

"Okay," she kissed him and left, Lucas looking after her. He turned back to the campfire and smiled at Haley.

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Yeah." She smiled back and was silent for a minute. "You and Brooke are going to be fine," she said finally.

Lucas gave her a questioning look.

"I mean with the college thing and everything…you'll get through it," she smiled again, "I'm sure of it. Just look at everything you've already overcome."

Lucas nodded, understanding what Haley was referring to. "Yeah. I was so scared she'd never forgive me after that, and I would've totally understood if she never trusted me again. I still haven't really forgiven myself."

"You should Luke," Haley said firmly, "It's all worked out. And you've proved this year that she can trust you."

Lucas smiled, "Thanks Hales. Well you and Nathan have come through a lot too."

Haley smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah, I was scared he wouldn't forgive me too."

"But in your heart you knew he would, right?"

Haley looked up.

"That as long as you could prove you still loved him, he would. Because he couldn't live without you Hales."

"I couldn't live without him either."

"Exactly. So you made it through, because you both knew in your hearts that you wouldn't want it any other way."

Haley smiled and looked at the fire.

They talked for a little longer, reminiscing about their childhood, and talking about their plans for the year ahead. Eventually the fire began to go out, and so they decided it was time to go to bed.

Lucas stood up, and pulled Haley up and gave her a hug.

"Night Luke."

"Night Hales."

They made their way to their tents, Haley unzipped the door of the one she was sharing with Nathan and crawled in, finding her had already fallen asleep. She chuckled and kissed his cheek, before changing and climbing into her sleeping bag.

"Hales?"

"Shh, I was trying not to wake you."

"Oh," he smiled and leant over, giving her a sweet kiss before lying down again and closing his eyes.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Peyton and Jake were falling asleep too. Jake had said goodnight to Jenny, who had then insisted she talked to 'Pey,' who spent about ten minutes telling her a story. When she put down the phone she looked over at Jake, who was breathing deeply with an arm around her.

She smiled; she couldn't remember ever feeling so content.

'Damn,' she thought, 'I'm going to need a whole new image for college.' Tortured artist somehow didn't go with happy and content. Deciding she didn't care, she closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Lucas opened the door to his tent to find Brooke, leaning on one elbow, reading a book by torchlight.

"Hey babe, I was just about to send out a search party," she said, looking up.

He laughed, "Sorry, me and Hales got to talking and…"

"Right," she interrupted, "Say no more, I know how you guys get when you start reminiscing about mini golf and stuff!"

He smiled, "We talked about you too."

"Oh yeah? Only good things I hope."

"Of course, about how amazing you are, and about how much I love you…" he trailed kisses along her neck, and Brooke laughed.

"You're so sweet." She turned her head and captured his lips in a kiss.

Lucas sighed, "What am I going to do without you?"

"Lucas…" she warned, "We're not talking about that. This is a happy weekend."

"Right, sorry." He smiled, "I guess we've got the whole summer to work it out."

"Woopdidoo. I'm looking forward to it," she said sarcastically.

He laughed and lay down, bringing her with him so she was lying against his chest. He felt something hard beneath his head and pulled it out. It was the book Brooke had been reading.

"The Winter of Discontent" he read the title and a thousand memories came flooding back. She smiled at him. "But you've read this before," he said.

"Yeah, like five times. It's one of my favourite books." She smiled for a minute at his expression, "Yes, I have favourite books Broody."

He laughed, "That's not what I was thinking about. I just didn't think this…"

"It always brings back good memories," she said.

He thought about it. That was true, but he hardly ever thought about that time; it brought back too many bad memories too.

"No matter what happened in between Lucas," Brooke whispered, "that was our beginning, and that was when I started to fall for you."

Lucas looked into her eyes, smiling slightly. "You might not believe it, but that was when I started falling for you too…it just took me a little longer to realise what I had." He brought his hand up to her face and lightly brushed her cheek, bringing out a smile. "And I would die before I gave it up again."

Before he could say anymore her lips were crushing on to his, kissing him passionately. He kissed her back, his fingers caressing her cheek.

They broke apart, and she rested her forehead against his.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you too."

She looked right into his eyes, and he received one more gorgeous smile before she moved her head down, resting it on his chest, her arms resting loosely around his neck, and closed her eyes.

He smiled too and wrapped his arms around her, one hand lightly rubbing her back, and fell asleep.

Finit. _(I'm feeling French)_

_PLEASE REVIEW! This is the longest single chapter I've ever written, so you know, be generous! And look out for my next story soon, especially all the BL fans. Also, if anyone has a TITLE IDEA they would like to suggest for my next story (it's about them in college…I don't want to give anything else away) But I really want a title so any random cool thing would be awesome! _


End file.
